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History of Little Haiti unveiled by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez

About 100 South Floridians of Haitian descent were present as the first book about Little Haiti was unveiled Friday by Mayor Carlos Alvarez at County Hall. The crowd included Claire Nassar, who in 1967 became the first Haitian-American inhabitant of Little Haiti, according to the book.

''I wanted to write this book so children can go to the library and find something about their heritage,'' Brown said.

Assembling the book was easy, said the author.

''A lot of it was finding one person. They would then lead me to other people,'' said Brown, 48, who has worked as a teacher and in the nonprofit sector.

He is of Russian descent, grew up in Connecticut and does not speak French or Creole. But he says of Florida's Haitian community: ``They've adopted me as an honorary Haitian.''

The book is geared toward younger readers. Brown hopes it will be available in libraries and schools, especially in Little Haiti.

With a population of 30,000 -- the vast majority of Haitian -- Little Haiti boasts the largest concentration of Haitians outside the Caribbean country.

The book launch featured timelines and pictures of important events in the community, ranging from 1969, when the first known boat of Haitian refugees arrived, to 2001, when the first 24-hour, Haitian-owned radio station was begun.

There was a performance by members of the Alva Dance Company, as well as a spoken-word act by K.H.A.T.T. -- Keeping Hope Alive for Talented Teens.

Alvarez presented a plaque to Ginnette Eugene, who along with her twin sister Gina runs Good Samaritan for a Better Life, a nonprofit organization geared toward social causes.

They were involved recently in arranging a series of surgeries for Marlie Cassius, a Haitian girl afflicted with a a 14-pound facial tumor.

''I think this book is great,'' said Karls Paul-Noel, a Haitian American who has risen to assistant fire chief with the Miami-Dade Fire Department. ``It allows all of us in the melting pot that is Miami to know each other and learn each other's history.''

Among those who have kick-started the history was Nassar, known as ``the mother of Little Haiti.''

In the late 1960s, she was the first black woman to move into the neighborhood, she says. Back then, she would frequently visit Haiti. Now, as political and economic problems plague her country, she rarely goes.

''In many ways,'' she said in French, ``Haiti has come to me.'